Patience
by MeGkAtHeRiNe
Summary: Miracles don't just happen. You need to deserve it; to be that special kind of person. *I do not own Criminal Minds*


A sigh was the only thing that made it past her lips, and it was a shaky one. The beeping of the machines in the room rung through her ears, the rhythm of the beeps somehow finding the rhythm of her heartbeat and pounding along.

Her daughter was asleep.

Nicole's tiny little head lay softly on her favorite pink pillow, her chest moving steadily up and down as the IV fluids pumped into her.

Day one hundred thirty-two in Memorial Hospital for eight year old Nicole Hotchner.

Emily's saddened doe eyes looked away from her daughter at the sound of footsteps approaching, watching as her husband walked back into the hospital room. "Hey."

"Hi sweetheart." He walked over to the couch where his wife was sitting and scooted behind her lean body, handing her the coffee she had requested. "Two splenda and no milk."

The mother of two turned her head and pressed a kiss to her husband's cheek. "Thank you, Aaron."

The older man sighed as his wife snuggled back into his chest. "How's she doing?"

"The same," she nodded. "Hasn't woken up yet."

"We're supposed to get the results today."

Emily gently shook her head, the tip of her tongue digging into her cheek. "They said that on Sunday too."

Aaron sighed. "Well maybe we'll actually get them today. And they'll be good."

The brunette woman glanced back to their daughter. "Hopefully."

"They will be," he assured her, resting his chin on her left shoulder. "I know they will be."

"Jack should be here soon."

The brown eyed man chuckled. "I know, he texted me at least ten times from school. He's really excited to see Colie."

Emily smiled, feeling her heart swell at the love her stepson held for his baby sister. "He called me twice. Haley picked him up five minutes early from school to get him here before the traffic got bad."

"Good call."

Nicole let out a gentle whine as she woke, feeling the IV pulling slightly as she tried to move. "Mommy?"

Emily immediately jumped from her seat, sitting herself on the edge of her sick daughter's bed. "Hi there baby. How'd you sleep?"

The eight year old sleepily shrugged her shoulders as she yawned. "Ok mommy."

Aaron pressed a kiss to his little girl's forehead. "How's my little princess feeling?"

"I'm tired, daddy."

The brunette man held his wife tight to him as his fiingers played with Nicole's, knowing she was fighting back tears. "I know, baby girl. But you can't go back to sleep right now."

The blue eyed girl frowned. "Why?"

"Because someone special is coming to see you."

Nicole immediately sat up in her bed, looking to her parents with a grin. "Santa Clause?"

Emily let out a laugh, feeling her husband's body vibrate behind her as he chuckled. "No honey, Christmas isn't here just yet. But this super cool big brother of someone we know is coming for a visit."

Nicole got onto her knees and gently crawled over to her parents, cupping her hands around her mouth so she could whisper. "Is it Jack?"

"Yes, yes it is."

The little girl's head spun to see her big brother walking in. "Jack!" She waited until he sat down on her bed before jumping into his lap. "Hi Jack."

Emily smiled when she saw Nicole kiss the thirteen year old's cheek. Her eyes flickered over to the blond woman who was quietly making her way into the room, and she nodded. "Thank you for picking him up."

Haley gave a gentle smile. "It wasn't a problem." She gestured to the little girl, watching as she rested her bald head on her older brother's chest. "How's she doing?"

The mother of two bit her lip. "We don't know yet. We're hoping to find out today."

A comfortable silence fell over the room just as Nicole's doctor walked in, her eyes glancing over to her patient. "Hi there Nicole."

Nicole beamed at the older woman. "Hi Becky."

"Feeling good?"

The blue eyed girl shrugged as she played with her brother's hair. "I'm not really tired anymore."

"Well that's great news," she smiled. Her eyes quickly turned to the two parents in the room. "Can I talk to you two for a minute?"

The brunette couple immediately nodded, following their daughter's doctor out into the hall. "How is she? Is she ok? She's ok, right?"

Aaron grabbed onto his wife's hand to silence her. "Did you get the results?"

The doctor nodded her head. "Doctors Gordon, Hart and I have all gone over your daughter's MRI results. Twice."

Emily hastily nodded. "And?"

"The tumor in her brain, we had only been able to remove half of it during surgery because it had wrapped itself around a large vein. That's why we needed to do the chemotherapy through IV."

The brunette mother sighed. "This was all four months ago, Rebecca. What does that have to do with anything now?"

The doctor smiled. "The MRI results then came up positive for the remaining parts of the tumor. The results have now turned up negative."

Aaron's brows furrowed. "Negative? What do you mean negative?"

Emily licked her lips. "How does that happen? Did it just disappear?"

"These things don't normally happen." The doctor let out a small laugh. "It's like a miracle."

The mother of two felt tears spring into her eyes, her hand tightening around her husband's. "No more cancer? Just like that?"

"Just like that."


End file.
